Local News

More than 40 people came out to Glenwood Community High School Media Center last Monday to watch the Glenwood Board of Education in an hour-long budget work session.

Yes, a budget work session.

The topic of discussion was more than just tax levies, budget guarantees and line items. With rumors swirling that the financially-strapped district will have to make heavy cuts from the fiscal 2010-2011 budget, the question on the minds of most in attendance was just how much and how deep those cuts will impact programs and teachers.

The site-selection committee for the proposed Loess Hills Archeology Interpretive Center has chosen three pieces of publicly-owned ground in and around Glenwood as possible locations for the educational facility that’s being billed as a future tourist attraction for Mills County.

As a means of cutting back on expenses, the Glenwood Public Library is looking at cutting back on its hours.

A proposal under consideration would reduce the number of hours the library is open to the public on a weekly basis from 48 to 42. Two hours would be cut at either the beginning or the end of the day on Wednesdays and four hours would be eliminated by closing on Saturday afternoons.

Single-digit temperatures and blustery winds on Monday forced rescuers to call off their search late in the afternoon for a man who is believed to have jumped off the Plattsmouth Toll Bridge into the cold water of the Missouri River.

Law enforcement agencies and rescue personnel from Mills County and Cass County, Neb., responded shortly after 3:20 p.m. after witnesses reported seeing a male subject get out of his vehicle, a white Ford Contour, and jump off the bridge.

These are just a few of the attributes the Glenwood Board of Education is looking for in its new district superintendent as they begin the search process to replace Dr. Stan Sibley, who announced in December he would be stepping down when his contract is completed June 30, 2010.

Glenwood native Eric Johansen has been named police chief for the city of Glenwood.

Mayor Kim Clark’s appointment of Johansen was approved at last Tuesday’s regular meeting of the Glenwood City Council. Johansen, who was sworn into office immediately following his appointment, will be paid $24.28 per hour and serve a six-month probationary period.

Three more suspects have been arrested in a forgery scheme that bilked more than $11,000 from a Mills County charity that assists families in need during the holidays.

In addition to Dewey Stuart, 39, of Omaha, who was arrested in December, Mills County Attorney Marci McClellan said Stacey Barrett, 35, of Omaha, Tina Moore, 21, of Omaha, and Stephanie Moore, 25, of Omaha, have all been charged with forgery (a Class D felony) and on-going criminal conduct (a Class B felony). If convicted of both counts, they face up to 30 years in prison.

The last time the Glenwood Community School District attempted to pass an Instructional Support Levy (ISL) the measure failed.

Public response to the tax that would allow the district to collect more than $800,000 in additional revenue to support their learning needs could not have been more divided in Glenwood. The vote ended in a deadlocked 434-434 tie, a single vote short of the simple majority it needed to pass.